The Death of a Salesman " The only thing that you got in this world is what you can sell"

In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy has fallen upon hard times. Willy goes to talk with his boss Howard about working local and staying off the road. The news that Willy is about to receive from Howard is not what he is expecting. Howard has to tell Willy that he is no longer needed to represent the company. After receiving this information Willy has no clue what he is going to do for income. The whole time Willy is talking to Howard he keeps selling himself short, he keeps saying he will work for less and less. At first he starts off saying he will work for sixty five dollars a week then he goes as low as forty dollars a week and Howard acts like he doesn’t even hear him talking. After the meeting with Howard, Willy goes and meets with Charley. Willy and Charley get into what seems like a heated argument. Charley offers Willy a job and Willy will not accept his offer and Charley tells him “the only you got in this world is what you can sell”.

            What I think Charley was trying to tell Willy is that it is all about perception. Charley didn’t mean literally selling merchandise he meant selling yourself. If a person has a sour attitude the put off a sour vibe, the same goes with confidence. If a person doesn’t seem confident in themselves then no one is going to have confidence in them. Willy clearly does this when he is talking with Howard and keeps lowering his price. I also think Charley is trying to get Willy to think outside the box, and make him realize he is capable of doing many different types of jobs.

            Things have changed from 1940’s to 2012 but I really don’t think that people have changed that much. When Charley offers Willy a job, Willy won’t have it, even though he needs it, he doesn’t want to work for Charley because they do not get along that well. Willy may also think he is too good for working for Charley. This is possible in 2012 with the unemployment crisis; there are jobs out there but the jobs available might not be what a person is looking for or a person may think they are too good for the job. Another thing that hasn’t changed you have to have confidence in yourself and realize you confident in doing multiple things. If a person works 20 years for a company and get laid off that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of doing anything else. They have to realize that they are and believe in themselves.

The Death of a Salesman "The only thing you have in this life is what you can sell"

In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy has fallen upon hard times. Willy goes to talk with his boss Howard about working local and staying off the road. The news that Willy is about to receive from Howard is not what he is expecting. Howard has to tell Willy that he is no longer needed to represent the company. After receiving this information Willy has no clue what he is going to do for income. The whole time Willy is talking to Howard he keeps selling himself short, he keeps saying he will work for less and less. At first he starts off saying he will work for sixty five dollars a week then he goes as low as forty dollars a week and Howard acts like he doesn’t even hear him talking. After the meeting with Howard, Willy goes and meets with Charley. Willy and Charley get into what seems like a heated argument. Charley offers Willy a job and Willy will not accept his offer and Charley tells him “the only you got in this world is what you can sell”.

            What I think Charley was trying to tell Willy is that it is all about perception. Charley didn’t mean literally selling merchandise he meant selling yourself. If a person has a sour attitude the put off a sour vibe, the same goes with confidence. If a person doesn’t seem confident in themselves then no one is going to have confidence in them. Willy clearly does this when he is talking with Howard and keeps lowering his price. I also think Charley is trying to get Willy to think outside the box, and make him realize he is capable of doing many different types of jobs.

            Things have changed from 1940’s to 2012 but I really don’t think that people have changed that much. When Charley offers Willy a job, Willy won’t have it, even though he needs it, he doesn’t want to work for Charley because they do not get along that well. Willy may also think he is too good for working for Charley. This is possible in 2012 with the unemployment crisis; there are jobs out there but the jobs available might not be what a person is looking for or a person may think they are too good for the job. Another thing that hasn’t changed you have to have confidence in yourself and realize you confident in doing multiple things. If a person works 20 years for a company and get laid off that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of doing anything else. They have to realize that they are and believe in themselves.

The Death of a Salesman

 

The Death of a Salesman is an intriguing piece of literature. I think (The Death of a Salesman) is very interesting because of the time period in which it takes place. In this play-write it shows the amount of pressure put on Biff and Happy, the sons of Willy Loman, to become successful business men.

If I were privileged enough to get to pick the cast members for the movie Death of a Salesman they would be: Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, and Helen Hunt.

                Tom Hanks would play the role of Willy Loman.  Willy is a family man, he is married to Linda Loman and has two sons by the name of Biff and Happy. Willy is a salesman. He is also old and senile. He mumbles to himself all the time and always has big plans. He puts a lot of pressure on his two boys to succeed and follow in his footsteps. Tom Hanks would be a very good actor for this role because he is so diverse. He has played in so many great movies.

                Brad Pitt would play the role of Happy Loman because Happy is supposed to be really good with the ladies. Happy is the youngest son of Willy and Linda Loman. Happy has big dreams of his future but he lacks motivation.  Brad Pitt would be ideal for this role because he has a great deal of luck with women. Brad has also starred in many great movies and is a good actor.

                Helen Hunt would play the role of Linda Loman. Linda Loman is Willy Loman wife. She cares a great deal about her husband Willy. She is there for Willys support at all times. She is a very easy going woman who supports Willys ideas. I think Helen Hunt would be great for this role. Helen, in this role could play Linda almost to a tee. She seems like the motherly type.